Senate Bill 0318c1

    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 318

    By the Committee on Fiscal Resource and Senator Lee





    314-1027A-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to intangible property taxes;

  3         amending s. 199.032, F.S.; reducing the rate of

  4         such taxes; amending s. 199.185, F.S.;

  5         prescribing the amount of accounts receivable

  6         subject to the tax as of January 1, 2000;

  7         providing that an exemption applies to the last

  8         0.5 mill of the annual tax; providing an

  9         effective date.

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11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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13         Section 1.  Section 199.032, Florida Statutes, is

14  amended to read:

15         199.032  Levy of annual tax.--An annual tax of 1.5 2

16  mills is hereby imposed on each dollar of the just valuation

17  of all intangible personal property that which has a taxable

18  situs in this state, except for notes and other obligations

19  for the payment of money, other than bonds, which are secured

20  by mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien upon real property

21  situated in the state. This tax shall be assessed and

22  collected as provided in this chapter.

23         Section 2.  Paragraph (l) of subsection (1) and

24  paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 199.185, Florida

25  Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to read:

26         199.185  Property exempted from annual and nonrecurring

27  taxes.--

28         (1)  The following intangible personal property shall

29  be exempt from the annual and nonrecurring taxes imposed by

30  this chapter:

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 318
    314-1027A-99




  1         (l)  Two-thirds One-third of the accounts receivable

  2  arising or acquired in the ordinary course of a trade or

  3  business which are owned, controlled, or managed by a taxpayer

  4  on January 1, 2000 1999, and thereafter. It is the intent of

  5  the Legislature that, pursuant to future legislative action,

  6  the portion of such accounts receivable exempt from taxation

  7  be increased to two-thirds for taxes levied on January 1,

  8  2000, and further increased to all such accounts receivable on

  9  January 1, 2001, and thereafter. This exemption does not apply

10  to accounts receivable that which arise outside the taxpayer's

11  ordinary course of trade or business. For the purposes of this

12  chapter, the term "accounts receivable" means a business debt

13  that is owed by another to the taxpayer or the taxpayer's

14  assignee in the ordinary course of trade or business and is

15  not supported by negotiable instruments. Accounts receivable

16  include, but are not limited to, credit card receivables,

17  charge card receivables, credit receivables, margin

18  receivables, inventory or other floor plan financing, lease

19  payments past due, conditional sales contracts, retail

20  installment sales agreements, financing lease contracts, and a

21  claim against a debtor usually arising from sales or services

22  rendered and which is not necessarily due or past due. The

23  examples specified in this paragraph shall be deemed not to be

24  supported by negotiable instruments. The term "negotiable

25  instrument" means a written document that is legally capable

26  of being transferred by indorsement or delivery. The term

27  "indorsement" means the act of a payee or holder in writing

28  his or her name on the back of an instrument without further

29  qualifying words other than "pay to the order of" or "pay to"

30  whereby the property is assigned and transferred to another.

31         (2)

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 318
    314-1027A-99




  1         (b)  With respect to the last 0.5 mill of the annual

  2  tax, every natural person is entitled each year to an

  3  exemption of the first $100,000 of the value of property

  4  otherwise subject to said tax. A husband and wife filing

  5  jointly shall have an exemption of $200,000.

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  7  Agents and fiduciaries, other than guardians and custodians

  8  under a gifts-to-minors act, filing as such may not claim this

  9  exemption on behalf of their principals or beneficiaries;

10  however, if the principal or beneficiary returns the property

11  held by the agent or fiduciary and is a natural person, the

12  principal or beneficiary may claim the exemption.  No taxpayer

13  shall be entitled to more than one exemption under paragraph

14  (a) and one exemption under paragraph (b).  This exemption

15  shall not apply to that intangible personal property described

16  in s. 199.023(1)(d).

17         Section 3.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2000.

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19          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
20                              SB 318

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22  The committee substitute adds a provision that reduces the
    annual intangibles tax rate from 2 mills to 1.5 mills.
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